Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: A composition[a] by David for stringed instruments.
A Prayer for God’s Protection
61 God, hear my cry;
pay attention to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I will cry to you
whenever my heart is overwhelmed.
Place me on the rock that’s too high for me.
3 For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength before the enemy.
4 Let me make my home in your tent forever;
let me hide under the shelter of your wings.
5 For you, God, have heard my promises;
you have assigned to me[b] the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Add day after day to the king’s life;
may his years continue[c] for many generations.
7 May he be enthroned before God forever;
Appoint your[d] gracious love and truth to guard him.
8 So I will sing songs to your name forever;
I will fulfill my promises day by day.
To the Director: According to Jeduthun’s style. A Davidic Psalm.
A Psalm of Trust in God
62 My soul rests quietly only when it looks[e] to God;
from him comes my deliverance.
2 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower;
nothing will shake me.
3 How long will you rage against someone?
Would you attack him
as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering fence?
4 They plan to cast him down from his exalted position.
They delight in lies;
their mouth utters blessings,
while their heart is cursing.
5 My soul, be quiet before God,
for from him comes my hope.
6 He alone is my rock, my deliverance, and my high tower;
nothing will shake me.
7 I rely on God who is my deliverance and my glory;
he is my strong rock,
and my refuge is in God.
8 People, in every situation put your trust in God;[f]
pour out your heart before him;
for God is a refuge for us.
9 Human beings[g] are a mere vapor,
while people in high positions[h] are not what they appear.
When they are placed on the scales, they weigh nothing;
even when weighed together, they are less than nothing.
10 Don’t trust in oppression
or put false hope in stealing;
if you become wealthy,
do not set your heart on it.
11 God spoke once,
but I heard it twice,
“Power belongs to God.”
12 Also to you, Lord, belongs gracious love,
because you reward each person according to what he does.
To the Director of music: A Psalm. A song.
A Song of Praise to God
68 God arises,
and his enemies are scattered.
Those who hate him flee from his presence.[a]
2 As smoke is driven away, so you drive them away.
As wax melts in the presence of fire,
so the wicked die in the presence of God.
3 But the righteous rejoice and exult before God;
they are overwhelmed with joy.
4 Sing to God!
Sing praise to his name!
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.
The Lord is his name.
Be jubilant in his presence.
5 A father to orphans and an advocate for widows
is God in his holy dwelling place.
6 God causes the lonely to dwell in families.[b]
He leads prisoners into prosperity,
but rebels live on parched land.
7 God, when you led out your people,
when you marched through the desert,
8 the land quaked.
Indeed, the heavens poured down rain
from the presence of God,
this God of Sinai,
from the presence of God,
the God of Israel.
9 God, you poured out abundant rain on your inheritance.
When Israel[c] was weary, you sustained her.
10 Your people live[d] there;
you sustain the needy[e] with your goodness, God.
11 The Lord issues a command.
Numerous are the women who announce the news:
12 “Kings of armies retreat and flee,
while the lady of the house divides the spoil.
13 When you men lie down among the sheepfolds,
you are like[f] the wings of the dove covered with silver,
with its feathers in glittering gold.”
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
there was snow on Mt. Zalmon.
15 The mountain of God is as the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.
16 You mountains of many peaks, why do you watch with envy
the mountain in which God has chosen to dwell?
Indeed, the Lord will live there forever.
17 God’s chariots were many thousands.
The Lord was there with them at Sinai in holiness.
18 You ascended to the heights,
you took captives.
You received gifts among mankind,
even the rebellious,
so the Lord God may live there.[g]
19 Blessed be the Lord who daily carries us.
God is our deliverer.
20 God is for us the God of our deliverance.
The Lord God rescues us from death.
21 God surely strikes the heads of his enemies,
even the hairy heads of those who continue in their guilt.
22 The Lord says, “From Bashan I will bring them,
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 that your feet may wade through blood.
The tongues of your dogs will have their portions
from your enemies.”
24 They have observed your processions, God,
the processions of my God,
my king, in the sanctuary.
25 The singers are in front,
the musicians follow,
strumming their stringed instruments
among the maidens who are playing their tambourines.
26 Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord who is the fountain of Israel.
27 Little Benjamin is there, leading them,
and the princes of Judah all together
with the princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali.
28 Summon the power of your God,
the power, God, that you have shown us.
29 Because of your Temple in Jerusalem,
kings bring tribute to you.
30 Rebuke the wildlife that lives among the reeds,
the nations that congregate like bulls and cows,
humbling themselves with pieces of silver,
for God[h] scatters the nations that delight in battle.
31 Envoys will come from Egypt.
Let the Ethiopians stretch out their hands to God.
32 You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God!
Sing praises to the Lord,
33 to the one who rides the heavens, the ancient heavens.
Behold! He thunders with a mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God, whose glory is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies.
35 You are awesome, God, from your sanctuaries.
The God of Israel is the one
who gives strength and power to the people.
Blessed be God!
6 While war continued between the dynasties of Saul and David, Abner was growing in influence within the dynasty of Saul. 7 Meanwhile, Saul had a mistress[a] named Rizpah, who was the[b] daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth[c] asked Abner, “Why did you have sex with my father’s mistress?”
8 What Ish-bosheth[d] said made Abner furious, so he replied, “A dog’s head for Judah—is that what I am? Up until today I’ve kept on showing loyalty to your father Saul’s dynasty, to his relatives and friends, and I haven’t turned you over to David, but you’re charging me today with moral guilt regarding this woman! 9 Therefore may God do to me[e]—and more also!—just as the Lord has promised to David, since I’m doing this for him: 10 I will take away the kingdom from the dynasty of Saul by making the throne of David firm over Israel and Judah—from Dan to Beer-sheba!”
11 Ish-bosheth[f] couldn’t say another word in response to Abner, because he was terrified of him. 12 So Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron to ask him, “Who owns this land? Cut a deal[g] with me, and look!—I’ll lend my hand in bringing all of Israel over to you!”
13 David replied, “Sounds good to me! I’ll cut a deal[h] with you under one condition: you’re not to show yourself in my presence unless you bring Saul’s daughter with you when you come to see me.” 14 Then David sent a delegation to Saul’s son Ish-bosheth to say, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was engaged with a dowry of 100 Philistine foreskins.”[i]
15 So Ish-bosheth ordered that she be taken away from her husband, Laish’s son Paltiel. 16 Her husband accompanied her, crying as he followed after her all the way to Bahurim, where Abner told him, “Leave! Go back!” So he went back.
David’s Dynasty is Strengthened
17 Later, Abner had a talk with the elders of Israel. He said, “In the past you were looking to see David made king over you. 18 So do it, then! Because the Lord has said this about David:
‘Through my servant David I will save my people Israel
from the control of the Philistines
and from all of their enemies.’”
19 Abner also addressed the tribe of Benjamin. Furthermore, with David’s permission,[j] Abner said anything that seemed like it would be good for Israel and for the entire tribe of Benjamin.
20 Afterwards, Abner brought 20 soldiers to David at Hebron, and David threw a party for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 So Abner told David, “Give me permission to go out and rally all of Israel to your majesty the king so they can enter into a formal agreement with you to reign over everything that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner off, and he went away in peace.
Paul Has a Vision
6 Because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, Paul and Timothy[a] went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. 7 They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them, 8 so they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia, because we were convinced that God had called us to tell the people there[b] the good news.
Paul and Silas in Philippi
11 Sailing from Troas, we went straight to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, an important city of the district[c] of Macedonia and a Roman[d] colony. We were in this city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day, we went out the city gate and walked[e] along the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and began talking to the women who had gathered there. 14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple goods, was listening to us. She was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to listen carefully to what was being said by Paul. 15 When she and her family were baptized, she urged us, “If you are convinced that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she continued to insist that we do so.
Jesus Feeds More than Five Thousand People(A)
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. 31 He told them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while,” because so many people were coming and going[a] that they didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 But when many people saw them leave and recognized them, they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 When he got out of the boat,[b] he saw a large crowd. He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
35 When it was quite late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and it’s already late. 36 Send the crowds[c] away so that they can go to the neighboring farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
They asked him, “Should we go and buy 200 denarii[d] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 He asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.”
They found out and told him, “Five loaves[e] and two fish.”
39 Then he ordered them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them. Then he broke the loaves in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people.[f] He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 All of them ate and were filled. 43 Then the disciples[g] picked up twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish. 44 There were 5,000 men who had eaten the loaves.
Jesus Walks on the Sea(B)
45 Jesus[h] immediately had his disciples get into a boat and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him, while he sent the crowd away. 46 After saying goodbye to them, he went up on a hillside to pray.
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